OTTAWA – As first reported by Cartt.ca this past April, the worst fears of small rural telephone companies operating in Ontario and Quebec have come to pass with today’s announcement that the Harper Government is upholding a CRTC ruling to eliminate monopoly phone services in Canada.
The Ontario Telecommunications Association (OTA) and the Association des Compagnies de Téléphone du Québec Inc. (ACTQ) have maintained that if their markets are fully opened to competition, they would suffer severe financial impacts that could put them out of business (as they noted on Cartt.ca).
Small Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (SILECs) had lobbied the Governor-in-Council to vary two CRTC decisions that reduces the subsidy they get from the National Contribution Fund and forces them to open their markets to competitors (the most significant being the Obligation to Serve decision Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2011-291).
But in today’s release from the Harper government, it responded that the “CRTC's approach is consistent with the Government's policy to decrease subsidies and increase consumer choice. Canadians in all regions will now be able to choose the service provider that works best for them.”
"Our Government's policy has always been to encourage competition, foster reliance on market forces and ensure consumer choice," said Christian Paradis, Minister of Industry and Minister of State. "The CRTC's decision will give rural Canadians access to greater choice over local telephone service."
Paradis maintained that by upholding the CRTC's decision, the government is providing rural Canadians with “more choice and greater access to telecommunications services, something urban Canadians have enjoyed for many years.” The Minister added that “Access to competitive services will continue to encourage economic development and spur innovation throughout Canada.”
